RCWS is a remotely controlled weapon station for light and medium caliber weapons which can be installed on any type of vehicle or other platforms (land and sea-based). Such equipment is used on modern military vehicles, as it allows a gunner to remain in the relative protection of the vehicle. It may also be retrofitted onto existing vehicles.
A typical RCWS enables a variety of devices to be operated automatically or by remote control, including such as a 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, and 12.7 mm machine guns, as well as a 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, anti-tank missiles and even observation pods. Such an RCWS is designed for example, to be mounted on light-armored, high-mobility military vehicles and to be operated by a gunner or vehicle commander operating under-the-deck.
For further knowledge about RCWS see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,949,015, U.S. 6,769,347 and U.S. 7,293,493 and International patent application publication WO2005/118295.
A typical RCWS is mounted with a barrel weapon (one or more), which is fed—as for its ammunition, by employing a “belt of rounds/cartridges system”.
Ammunition belts consist of a long string of cartridges fastened together with pieces of canvas, or, more often, attached by small metal links. Guns that use this sort of ammunition have a feed mechanism driven by the recoil motion of the bolt. This system lets one fire continuously, without reloading. Theoretically, one could form ammunition belts of any length, and verily they are a great means for providing a continuous supply of ammunition. The problem is that the belt is fairly cumbersome, and there exists a relatively high likelihood of the feed mechanism being jammed.
Hence, in order to reduce the possibility of the feed mechanism being jammed, it is customary to store the long belts of rounds (bullets) in a metal, dimensionally suitable ammunition container cases (boxes) that are located as near as possible in the immediate proximity (vicinity) of the weapon. Such a container might contain hundreds and even a thousand and more rounds. Ammunition containers constitute the most common “feeding” source for weapons that are installed in RCWS.
Further information regarding the usage of an ammunition container in the form of an enclosure for holding a supply of ammunition in a belt form associated with an RCWS is found for example in International patent application publication WO2008/097255.
Two highly challenging tasks in the RCWS domain stem from the selected method of feeding by using the long belts of bullets and in addition from he fact that by its inherent definition, the RCWS is not manned by an attending adjacent operator that is capable to discern in due time when the amount of ammunition in the box (i. e., the ammunition container) is diminishing and to tend to the task of replenishing the reduced ammunition stock being fed.
The first task is the need to receive an earlier indication regarding the fact of the diminishing ammunition quantity in the container (ammunition box) and the second task is the need to replenish it, hence the need to start refilling—subject to and around the time that such an indication is received.
As per receiving such an advanced indication as stated, there are known suitable sensor devices that warn in time—before it is too late, regarding the diminishing ammunition belts state that is becoming smaller and disappears from the ammunition box. Mostly attention is given and talked about a sensor that senses as the ammunition belt passes next to it and “translates” the sensing to a quantitative value, wherein upon producing this (worked up) value (quantity) of the ammunition in the box the sensor generates the indication about approaching need to replenish and reload anew the box.
There is a variety of sensor device technologies that are described, for example in the publication of International patent application WO2008/150356 and see there, also (within the framework of Description of Related Art chapter), the detailed particulars of prior art references related to devices for detecting the firing of rounds from a gun.
As to the second task—from the instant an that indication warning against the reduction of the round's belt that is progressively being used up from the ammunition container box, renewed loading might be performed, for example through a physical harnessing of the end extension of the residual long belt of rounds that was left in the ammunition container box to the front end part of a “fresh” long belt of rounds found in a new ammunition container. A new container that is positioned in the place and as a substitute to the “old” one (or by loading the “old” one with the new belt of rounds whose front end was harnessed as said, to the end extension of the remainder belt of rounds that was left).
The catch is that such an activity requires the dangerously exposure of the combatant whose task it is to renew the stock of the ammunition in the RCWS. He will be forced to exit the relative shelter that he gained by the position of the RCWS over the place in which he was (for example, within the existing inner space of the armored combat vehicle) and at a distant from it. Such an exposure for accomplishing the task of reloading the ammunition container box, might last for a substantial long time so that it endangers the combatant.
In RCWS that are of the deck-penetrators type, namely RCWS that might be positioned over an existing opening in the carrier vehicle, (for example—over the opening of an existing hatch in an armored combat vehicle), there are implemented nowadays two feasible solutions in this respect, and each of them is “endowed” by their respective disadvantages.
A first feasible solution is embodied by a relatively spaced geometric design of the RCWS, in a manner that enables a combatant to stand from inside the carrier vehicle and through the opening existing in the deck (the existing opening over it the RCWS is located), unto the midst of the weapon systems that are mounted in the RCWS, in order to perform the re-loading activities.
Naturally, what is considered is a solution that dictates assigning a considerable free space within the RCWS. A space to be utilized and occupied only at the periods wherein the reloading anew of the ammunition container is executed (it must be remembered, that the goal is to prevent the unacceptable habit forming act of having a combatant that is as a matter of routine standing there inside the RCWS). The dedicated free space remain useless during most of the time and as said, would lead to the unnecessary wrong habit wherein a combatant stands there, within the RCWS, all the time—just the opposite of what we wanted to achieve by implementing the RCWS.
The required volume also brings about an unwholesome and not wanted result of increasing the dimensions of the RCWS and its vulnerable increased silhouette. Alternatively, if it is a must—or is desired, to maintain the RCWS dimensions as small as it can—such solution requires assigning important volume on account of the ability to equip the RCWS with one more weapons system and/or reconnaissance pod.
The second known solution is the installation of remote loading systems—namely mechanical mechanisms for remote feeding of the weapons systems. In RCWS of the deck-penetrator type, it is feasible to form a lower level (a sort of a “turret basket”) that penetrates from the existing opening of the carrier vehicle (for example, the hatch opening in an armored combat vehicle) all the way into the interior of the carrier vehicle. The “turret basket”, in which there are installed various mechanisms as said, feeds the weapon systems that are located in the upper of the RCWS. As the ammunition quantity decreases, it is feasible to replenish and renew the ammunition stock inside the “turret basket”—thus renewing the stock from inside a relatively sheltered space (as this operation is carried out, as said, in the relatively sheltered lower level, into which the “turret basket” of the RCWS penetrates).
Naturally, mechanical mechanisms for remote feeding of weapon systems are relatively cumbersome. In most cases, it becomes necessary to actively assist the advancement of the belt of rounds in motion to move from the lower level unto the upper level of the RCWS, because the capability of the belts for self propulsion (pull itself up) as is the situation in weapon systems, is limited. In addition, in such mechanical mechanisms for remote feeding of weapon systems, it is required to ensure accurate and smooth routing (guiding) of the belts of rounds, without any bends, twists or superfluous bends. As a consequence of the complexity of these ammunition feeding systems, naturally also the probability for the occurrence of malfunctions in their operation is increased.
The existence (in the inner volumes of the vehicles, for example) of such mechanical mechanisms for remote feeding of weapon systems also mandate the necessity to assign an otherwise free volume inside the inner space of the carrier vehicle in order to accommodate said “turret basket”. Note that this is an important (dear) volume wherein, for example, on installing an RCWS equipped with a “turret basket” as said, i. e. above the combatants compartment in an armored combat vehicle—a substantial volume from the free space of the compartment would be detracted—and this when that volume is small and congested already without it. It is also to be remembered that we are talking about active mechanisms, on whose account all kinds of movements are conducted, (for example advancing said belts of rounds or the revolving motion of the turret), that naturally present a certain threat and safety danger to the combatants staying in the crammed small compartment in the immediate proximity of the “turret basket”.
Thus, due to the disadvantages found in the known prior art as we did point at above, at the times and periods that preceded the present invention, it was evidently found out that there exists a need to develop, an answer to the challenge of ammunition reloading of the weapon systems in a RCWS of the deck-penetrator type, namely RCWS that are to be located above the existing opening in the carrier vehicles (for example above the hatch opening of an armored combat vehicle), wherein the following would be provided—    a. Enable reloading weapon systems that are mounted in an RCWS—            a1. Without excess exposure of the combatants.        a2. Without the necessity to assign a relatively large portion of mission volume inside the RCWS.        a3. Without requiring a constant assignment of a relatively large volume inside the inner space of the vehicle carrying the RCWS.            b. That it will be relatively low priced and simple to manufacture, install and operate, and as much as practicable be immune to malfunctions and faults.    c. That it would be amenable to interface simply and conveniently with a variety of existing and planned platforms, that enable installing RCWS of the deck-penetrator type on them.